The invention relates in general to recoil dissipation and, in particular, to a recoil dissipation apparatus suitable for an arm of a robot.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) relates to disarming and/or neutralizing explosive devices. Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) may be neutralized with a known Percussion Actuated Neutralizer (PAN) disrupter, which may be similar to a firearm.
Current methods for employing a disputer may require the EOD operator to manually set-up the PAN disrupter. The EOD operator may be within three feet of the IED. The EOD operator may be exposed to harm because there may a nearby, alternate ambush device, or the IED may be monitored and detonated with a remote detonator. A dummy/inert IED may be used to lure the EOD operator into an area that is being watched by a sniper. The IED may be a timed IED, and the EOD operator may be there when the timed IED detonates.
Robotic operation of the PAN disrupter may not be possible on Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS) robots due to high recoil produced by the type of charge the PAN employs. Recoil caused by a PAN disrupter hard-mounted onto MTRS robots may cause robot arm failure and robot damage. Past solutions have had shortcomings in eliminating enough recoil to allow safe, controlled deployment of the PAN disrupter on the robot arm.
One known mount uses a friction brake, which converts the recoil energy into heat via a friction clamp that allows translation of the barrel. The friction brake was determined to reduce the recoil by only 85%. Another type of mount on a similar mechanism employs a brake shoe construction that resulted in only 82% recoil reduction when mounted on a test stand. With the known mounts, the robot arm may be subject to 500 pounds or more of force when firing the PAN disrupter. A need exists for an apparatus to absorb or dissipate the recoil of a PAN disrupter that is mounted to a robot.